Topic :
he government should sometimes infringe on people’s freedom for the security of society. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Answer :
I believe that the government should take measures to maintain the security of the society, even if it involves restricting its people’s freedom. This essay will discuss the background where the government must interfere with its people pursuing their own freedom, and also discuss the reason why the government might have to infringe on the freedom of its own people in certain situations.
Firstly, it is highly problematic when a person’s freedom collides with another individual’s freedom. Let’s take the example of cigarette smoking. It is the smoker’s freedom that allows him/her to smoke whenever, and wherever they want. However, the act of smoking being an activity that might put the health of the people around the smoker at risk, it is highly inappropriate for the government to let the smokers smoke cigarettes without any rules and regulations. I argue that in this situation, the government should limit the freedom of the smoker by forcing the smokers to smoke only in designated smoking areas. This policy might compromise the smokers’ freedom, yet it will make sure that the freedom of the non-smokers, which is the freedom to remain healthy, is safe.
Moreover, the concept of freedom could cause danger when it is misunderstood. For instance, it is natural for people to think that they are free to swim in the river that runs along their neighbourhood. Regardless of the fact that enjoying the nature that we live in is every person’s right, swimming in the river might be dangerous, even life-threatening if done without having the proper skills. The government must set specific rules that can protect people from such dangerous situations. Ensuring people’s safety is a critical matter that the government must put effort on, even if it costs a fair portion of its people’s freedom.
In conclusion, I insist that the government can limit people’s freedom as long as the limitations are made in order to achieve safety and peace among its people. In other words, interventions must be made when freedom is misleading people to danger, or when one freedom contradicts with another.
